Traced: Responding to London’s Legacy of Slavery

Supporting Organisation(s):
London Borough of Greenwich and Third Text
Chair/Other Speakers:
Federico Wulff, Helen Paul and Richard Dyer

Hosted at The Shipwright in September 2022, Traced was a symposium and exhibition exploring Deptford’s historical ties to the transatlantic slave trade. Chaired by David Cotterrell, the event featured a multidisciplinary panel including Federico Wulff, Helen Paul, and Richard Dyer, who debated how art and architecture can confront and commemorate complex colonial legacies.

TRACED, a multidisciplinary symposium and exhibition, aimed to address the lasting impact of the transatlantic slave trade on London. Held at the historic Master Shipwright’s House, the event brought together artists, architects, and historians to explore how creative practice could reveal and address these hidden histories.

The accompanying exhibition featured Cotterrell’s work on the ‘traces’ of exploitative dynamics. His research examined the interplay of empathy, risk, and historical memory, demonstrating how London’s physical infrastructure, like the Deptford dockyards, still bears the scars of its colonial past.